Repton and its neighbourhood

by F. C. Hipkins

After the dissolution of monasteries, the rectorial tithes passed to Edward Abell, lord of manor of Tickenhall, who died in 1596. From his son, Ralph, Sir John Harpur purchased the manor and impropriate tithes in 1625, and they remain in the hands of his descendant, Sir Vauncey Harpur-Crewe, Bart., who is also the patron of the living, which has been converted into a vicarage in modern times.

In the year 1841 it was decided, at a vestry meeting, to build a new church, the old one being so much out of repair. About fifty yards to the north of the old one the present church was erected, consisting of nave, with aisles, chancel, vestry, and tower with spire. The picturesque, ivy-clad remains of the old church in the churchyard, the four-clustered pillars in the vicarage garden, and other fragments found in situ prove that the old Chapel of St. Thomas contained portions of Norman, Early English and Decorated work, and the fact that gunpowder had to be used in its demolition also proves that a most interesting church, connected with centuries of the history of Tickenhall, was destroyed. As if to complete the severance, the name of its patron saint was also changed to that of St. George, not in honour of England’s patron saint, but after Sir George Crewe, Bart., lord of the manor, and patron of the living!

Formerly a good trade was carried on in the limestone quarries, but of late they have been closed. The “caverns” present a most picturesque appearance, and afford a grand field for the geologist in search of fossils, which abound in the carboniferous limestone there. There was also a pottery works, with a kiln, which have also been closed and pulled down. There is a hospital, founded by Mr. Charles Harpur in the year 1770, for “decayed poor men and women in the parishes of Tickenhall and Calke.” It is now only occupied by women. The octagonal brick-built “round house” still remains by the side of the main street, and forms a link between the old and the new.

Calke was, as we have seen, celebrated for its “Abbey,” the mother of Repton Priory. In the year 1547 Calke was granted by Edward VI. to John, Earl of Warwick. Thirty years later it became the property and seat of Roger Wendesley, whose successor, Richard Wendesley, sold it to Robert Bainbrigge, who in 1621 conveyed it to Henry Harpur, who was made a baronet in 1626. At the beginning of the eighteenth century the present “Abbey” was built on the site of the old priory, as it ought to have been called.

The parish church belonged to the Canons of Calke from the earliest times, and with them was transferred to Repton Priory, with whose canons it remained till the dissolution of the monasteries, when it passed to the owners of the estate.

The Parliamentary Commissioners in 1650 describe Calke “as a peculiar Sir John Harper of the same Baronett is impropriator and procures the cure supplied. It lyes neare unto Ticknall and may conveniently be united to Tycknall and the chapell of Calke disused.” There is a seal of the peculiar, a diamond in shape, with the side view of a man in a long gown. These words are round the margin, Sigillum officii pecularis jurisdictionis de Calke. As “peculiars” are exempt from the jurisdiction of the Ordinary or Bishops Courts, no doubt this seal was used for stamping deeds, &c., issued by the peculiar.

The church is said to be dedicated to St. Giles, who was also the patron saint of the priory. Sir George Crewe rebuilt, or rather re-cased, the old church with new stone in the year 1826. Like the windows at Hartshorn, the mullions and tracery are of cast iron, by Weatherhead, Glover and Co., Derby. At the west end is a small embattled tower, in which is a door, the only entry to the church.

The village consists only of a few houses, but it is very prettily situated.

A little to the south-east of Calke is Staunton Harold, the seat of Earl Ferrers. At the time of the Domesday Book Survey, the Ferrers family possessed estates in fourteen counties, and no less than one hundred and fourteen manors in Derbyshire. Their principal seat was at Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire, where they founded the priory. Robert, the 2nd Earl, was created Earl of Derby in the year 1138. This title remained in the family till the reign of Henry III., when another Robert (the 5th Earl) was deprived of his titles and estates owing to his repeated acts of rebellion. According to Lysons, the title was conferred on several Plantagenets. Henry VII. conferred it, after the victory of Bosworth Field, in consideration of services received, on Lord Stanley, in whose family it still remains. The present Earl Ferrers is descended from Sir Henry Shirley, who married Dorothy, co-heir of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, and of the Baronies of Ferrers of Chartley and Bourchier. Their grandson Robert was summoned to Parliament, by Writ 14th December, 1677, as Baron Ferrets of Chartley, and was created Viscount Tamworth and Earl Ferrers 3rd September, 1711. Staunton Harold Hall was built by the 5th Earl Ferrers. Situated in a lovely valley, overlooking a lake, bounded by sloping ground adorned with trees, and other shrubs, the house is one of the finest of its kind among our “stately homes of England.” It is built in the style of Andrea Palladio (Classical or Renaissance) with a pediment supported by Ionic pillars, which are upheld with Doric columns. The material is stone, or brick ornamented with stone. The south-west front, built in the form of the letter H, is surmounted with the statue of a huge lion. The north-east, or library front, was designed by Inigo Jones. The entrance gate of the Hall is of most elaborate and beautiful specimen of iron workmanship. By the side of the lake is a beautiful little Gothic church, consisting of chancel, nave and two aisles. The chancel is separated from the nave by elegantly wrought iron gates, which bear the Ferrers’ arms. From the walls of the church are hung funeral trophies of the family, like those in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.